A typical ceiling fan will include a down rod assembly suspended from the ceiling with a motor shaft connected to a lower portion of the down rod assembly. A motor body rotates about the motor shaft. A motor housing that surrounds the motor may be secured to either the motor shaft or the down rod assembly, which is stationary. Blade mounting arms are connected to the motor body and extend out of an opening of the motor housing or below the motor housing. A hub is attached to the motor shaft below the fan blades and fan blade arms. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,250,885 and 6,354,801, issued to Gajewski and commonly assigned with this invention, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The motor housing in a typical ceiling encloses the motor. And typical ceiling fans require three or more screws connecting each fan blade to a blade arm. Thus, assembly of the ceiling fan is cumbersome and time consuming. The greater the number of blades the longer the assembly time. And the screws may become loosened from vibration of running the fan. Additionally, there are a variety of reasons for removing fan blades from a fan hub portion, including bringing the hub portion in for repair or replacing broken fan blades or for cleaning. Thus, there has been a need for easy installation and replacement of fan blades. Prior art attempts have not proved to be entirely successful.